April 18, 2008	Friday	Rabi-us-Sani 11, 1429

LONDON, April 17: Commonwealth ministers will meet next month to review Pakistan’s suspension from the 53-nation body, the organisation said on Thursday.

The group suspended Pakistan last year after President Pervez Musharraf failed to meet a deadline to lift emergency rule and resign as army chief.

The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG), which deals with violations of the organisation’s rules on democracy, will meet in

London on May 12 to review the suspension, the Commonwealth said in a statement.

It agreed in November to review progress in Pakistan after elections and a British source said then that Pakistan could be readmitted if the conduct of the elections was satisfactory.

A Commonwealth spokesman said on Thursday a lot of the conditions set in November had been addressed, noting Pakistan now had a democratically elected government and Musharraf had stepped down as army chief.

“It’s a question of CMAG ministers analysing the situation on the ground and coming to a decision,” he said.

CMAG, made up of foreign ministers from nine Commonwealth countries, will also consider political developments in Fiji, which was suspended in December 2006 following a military coup.—Reuters